new camelot
by eman2001
Summary: a modern retake on the ancient legend


©2010 Ervin McClure

It was a cold and damp morning. The kind where you

want to stay inside. All was quiet, the streets empty, until an alarm sounded.

Within minutes the police arrived at the scene, scrambling for

cover. Then the officer in charge used her bullhorn. "Attention

in the bank. We have you surrounded. Come out with your

hands up."

A moment passed before the robbers came out. As

they came out, they started firing weapons never seen before,

releasing energy bursts toward the officers, and penetrating

both the cruisers and some of the officers. As the lead officer

was about to call for backup, a group of individuals

approached, dressed in medieval-style armor and riding

mechanical horses. As they came closer to the officers, one of

the horse's eyes glowed and emitted lasers slicing the robber's

fingers, ending the threat and allowing the officers to arrest

them.

The lead officer, breathlessly facing her mysterious

benefactors calls out "Thank you, sir. The name is Lieutenant Phyllis

Barnes."

"I am Arthur of New Camelot." the leader told her.

"What's New Camelot? What exactly do you do?"

"We're a tiny, quasi-military team that assists local law enforcement fighting crime and corruption." Just then, a man in a similar suit of armor appeared. "If you would excuse me ma'am." Arthur turned toward the new arrival. "Black Knight, I'm surprised to see you. How is it that you seem to know where we are all the time?"

"Coincidence only, Arthur." The Black Knight answered. "You're late." Lieutenant Barnes told the Black Knight, with a hurt look in her eyes.

"Traffic. Unlike Arthur, my horse can't fly." He told her. "But, I hope to fix that problem soon." Deep in thought, she turned around to get in her cruiser, and suddenly she placed the palm of her hand on the chest area of the Black Knights armor, as though to tell him that she understood why he was unable to rescue her himself. As the lieutenant drove off, Arthur and his knights brought the Black Knight up to speed on what happened. "I'll follow a few leads on my end, and let you know if anything turns up." The Black Knight told them.

"Same here. And be careful." Arthur replied.

"Will do." As the Black Knight started leaving, one of the other knights approached Arthur.

"Sir, I think the Black Knight's judgment may be too clouded for this mission" it was Perceval.

"Oh?" Arthur asked. "Why do you say that?"

"The way the lieutenant acted around him. It seems to indicate a personal connection between them."

"I don't think it'll be a problem. It may serve as more motivation to solve this quickly."

"Yes, sir" The knights then turned to return to their headquarters, not knowing that a mysterious figure was watching from the shadows. As the knights left, the figure came out into the light of the streetlight. It was young woman. She appeared to be around twenty-one years old, the kind of woman you see around but not really notice. She glared after them with a menacing grin.

"Fools." She said. "You will not win this time." When the Black Knight got to his underground base, Lieutenant Barnes was waiting for him.

"You know, when you first became the Black Knight, I was worried that you would change. Become more violent, more aggressive." She said.

"And now?" the Black knight asked as he pulled off his helmet.

"Now I couldn't be any prouder." She answered, pulling one of the robbers' guns out of a duffel bag. "What is this?"

"That's what we're trying to find out. The others think it may be the prototype stolen from the Army R&D lab upstate." The Black Knight answered as he began typing some commands into the computer. "Jesus!" something had just appeared on the screen. It read "Army R&D lab broken into. Prototype stolen. Project Lancer compromised." It was a military report.

"It says here that the weapons have two main functions. The first we've already witnessed. And the second…" He left off.

"And the second?" She prodded.

"If the right code isn't put in, then trying to fire it will cause it to self-destruct instead."

"So, someone told these goons the code?" She asked. "Sounds like an inside job."

"I'm afraid so. I have to alert the other knights." The Black Knight left the base on his black mechanical horse. While lieutenant Barnes went upstairs to get her car and return to the station, a fax came in. FBI sent a report on a suspect in the weapons theft. It was a woman known only as "Goliath". She was suspected to be the leader of one of the world's largest criminal organization. Phyllis decided to take the report to the knight's headquarters. As she was putting the key in the ignition to drive away, she heard a ticking sound coming from under the car. When she heard it click, she jumped out and ran to the other side of the road, and was blown into the ditch by the blast. As a black van approached at a high speed, a gray sedan pulled up next to her.

"Phyllis, get in!" The driver yelled. As soon as she had pulled herself into the car, the driver put it into reverse.

"What the hell? What is going on?" Phyllis asked.

"How did you get here so fast?"

"David had me following you for a couple of years."

"Okay, but who is trying to kill me?"

"Goliath." Phyllis muttered something under her breath.

"We need to get to David and tell him."

"Of course." As they arrived at the knights' base, they were at the gate, handing the Black Knight the papers.

"Goliath, shit." The Black Knight exclaimed. Then he looked around again. "Phyllis, why aren't you in your car?"

"Goliath had put a bomb under my car." The Black Knight held her in his arms as he thanked the man in the sedan.

"Who is Goliath?" Lancelot asked. The Black Knight explained about Goliath being the leader of the largest criminal organization in the world. "Jeez!"

"We need to catch her as quickly as possible." Arthur said.

"But, how do we find her?" Gawain asked.

"We need to lure her out." The Black Knight answered. "But, what do we use for bait?"

"What has she been stealing?" Arthur asked.

"High-tech weapons of different categories." The Black Knight put his fist into his hand hard. "Of course, My plan is: We let leak that there is a new type of weapon being tested." After the details were discussed, the knights called one of their contacts in the military, who agreed. Within hours, the false information was leaked and they waited at the facility, hidden. After about three hours, it was starting to look as though she was tipped off to the ruse. But then, a dark cargo van entered the perimeter. The knights prepared themselves to engage the thieves.

As the thieves exited the van, a woman appeared to be giving orders. The Black Knight used his helmet's optics to zoom in on her. It was Goliath, herself. The knights mounted their steeds and headed down the hill to capture her, leaving Phyllis in the bushes. As they got to the bottom, the thieves turned and started firing at the knights, bullets bouncing off of the armor. Then Goliath opened the back of the van and pulled out a gun much like the one used at the robbery, that was stolen from the military, only this one was bigger. She started firing, each hit doing serious damage, resulting in several holes in each object she hits. As Phyllis watched from the top of the hill, she heard footsteps behind her. When she turned around, she looked, shockingly, at Goliath.

"How is this possible?" Phyllis thought. Before Phyllis could react, Goliath had grabbed her. After Goliath had tied her up, she dropped a cell phone. When the knights returned to the top of the hill, they noticed that Phyllis was gone. As they searched, the cell phone rang. When Gawain answered, the person told him to hand the phone to the Black Knight.

"This is the Black Knight."

"This is Goliath." The Black Knight snapped his fingers to get the knights' attention.

"What do you want?"

"I have the lieutenant. If you want her back, do exactly as I tell you. Only you. If I see any other knights, she dies. Understood?"

"Yes."

"Good. First, I want you to bring my sister, you have locked-up to the old warehouse at First and Main, alone." Goliath told him. "You'll receive further instructions then." She then hung up. "Goliath has Phyllis. She wants me to bring her sister to First and Main, alone." The Black Knight told them. "Okay, but we'll follow from a distance." Arthur said.

"If she sees you, she'll kill her."

"She won't see us. I only have one question." He said. "Why do you care so much about what happens to Phyllis?"

"She's my wife." The other knights alternated surprised, but understanding looks from the Black Knight and each other.

"Don't worry, we'll help get her back." As they were laying out their plan to rescue Phyllis, Merlin, the technician, came in.

"I have something that may help." He said. "I've updated the software in your helmets. You'll each be able to see what the other sees, through the an optical image." "Good. Finally something appears to be going our way." The Black Knight beamed as he mounted, and left. A few minutes later, the other knights followed, making sure to trail behind enough not to be suspicious. As the Black

Knight arrived at the warehouse with a woman wearing a hood, a dark van drove up. The woman exited the van with Phyllis, hands tied behind her back.

"Good, that's close enough. Let my sister go". Goliath ordered the Black Knight. He did as she said, and the woman walked over to her sister, who now hesitated to release Phyllis as promised. The sister tried to tell her to release Phyllis, but Goliath refused. Her sister then slapped her to the ground stunned and cut the roped binding Phyllis, who ran to the Black Knight.

"What's going on?" Phyllis asked.

"I'm not sure." The Black Knight told her.

"I'm sorry about my sister. She can be a pain sometimes." Goliath's sister said to the Black Knight.

"She always has been, ever since the incident at Corado."

"Goliath told me about that, said she was the only one to survive. Wait, how did you know about that? It was a top-secret base."

"I was there. She didn't only survive, she was the one that killed them, and almost killed me." The Black Knight told the sister with anger evident in his voice. The women's eyes grew wide.

"Why didn't you tell me this earlier?" Phyllis asked. Before he could answer, Goliath was getting up a few yards away. The sister turned around. When she saw Goliath was almost up, she grabbed a gun and shot her in the leg.

"You shot me?" Goliath asked in shock and pain. "Why would you shoot your own sister?"

"Why would you lie to me? I trusted you!" The sister yelled. She walked up to Goliath and aimed the gun at her head.

"Karen, don't." The Black Knight pleaded. Goliath's sister, Karen, looked, frowning at him. "If you do it, you'll be just as bad as her."

"Fine." Karen said, as she put the gun away. The Black Knight approached and put some cuffs on Goliath, or Ashley, as was her real name. "David, is it you under that helmet?"

"Yes." They both went to the horse where Phyllis was standing.

"You two know each other?" Phyllis asked.

"We used to go out, before the incident." Karen told her. "You know, Ashley's not going to let this stop her."

"We'll just have to see about that, won't we?" The Black Knight said. Karen gave him a slightly playful smile.

"Just remember. David is mine." Phyllis told her.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to steal him." Karen replied. The knights came riding up.

"How far away were you?" The Black Knight asked.

"We had to intercept a few of Goliath's men that were headed this way." Arthur replied.

"We've got Goliath in custody, thanks to Karen." He pointed to the wall where Goliath was sitting. "Gawain, would you let Karen ride with you to headquarters?"

"Sure." Gawain replied. "Anytime you're ready, ma'am."

"Just one thing. Where am I going to stay?" Karen asked. "I mean, I can't go back Goliath's. Not after what just happened."

"You can stay with us." Phyllis told her. "As long as it's okay with David."

"I see no problem." David told them. With that, everyone mounted the horses, with armor gleaming in the dimming light of the sunset. Phyllis rode with the Black

Knight, and Karen with Gawain. As they rode down the street, they passed a police car, which they placed Goliath into. When they arrived at headquarters, Karen and Gawain appeared to be laughing with each other.

"Well, it looks like you two had fun." Phyllis stated.

"Yeah. It's the most I've laughed in years." Karen told her. "Thank you, Gawain."

"My pleasure." Gawain told her as he put his helmet's metal lips to the back of her hand. As a car pulled up, Karen walked up to the Black Knight with a big gun.

"I'm glad you two had fun." He said.

"Lieutenant, we've been looking for you. The chief wants to talk to you and the Black Knight in his office." The officer in the car told them.

"We'll be there shortly, sergeant. Oh, I need you to take Karen here to my place." Phyllis told the sergeant, while handing the keys to Karen.

"Actually, it might be better if I came with you."

Karen told her. "I might be able to clear some things up." Phyllis and the Black Knight agreed and asked the sergeant to drive her to the station. As Phyllis and the Black Knight rode up, the other officers stared, not believing that she had gotten so close to the Black Knight so quickly. When they dismounted, the crowd moved aside, clearing a path into the station. As they walked toward the station, one of the officers came up to the Black Knight with a pair of cuffs.

"Lieutenant, I knew that if anybody could bring him in, it would be you."

"He's not here as a prisoner. The chief wanted to see us." Phyllis told him. As she and the Black Knight continued, Phyllis placed her hand into his, surprising the crowd. When they reached the chiefs office, the chief looked at them with surprise.

The chief cordially invited Phyllis, Black Knight to come in and close the door behind you." They did as he asked. When they were seated, the chief began to ask them questions about the capture of Goliath. Just as they were about to answer, the commissioner and mayor entered the room. The commissioner stopped short noticing that he had no cuffs. "Why are there no cuffs on him, Chief? "

"Because, he's not under arrest. Besides, if he was, they wouldn't hold him." The chief told him.

"Well, we'll just have to see about that, lieutenant, cuff him." He told Phyllis. She looked at the Black Knight, as though she was asking for advice.

"It's okay, Phyllis." He told her. "Do what you have to." He held out his hands to be cuffed. She took the cuffs from the commissioner, and was moving closer to the Black Knight. When she got within arm's length of him, she threw the cuffs into the garbage can.

"Not a chance." Phyllis said. Just then, Karen came in.

"Is there a problem?" she asked.

"They want me to arrest the Black Knight." Phyllis answered.

"You stupid idiots." Karen directed at the commissioner and the mayor. "You want to arrest the only man that knows what Goliath is capable of?" The commissioner and mayor looked at each other, then back at Karen. "How do we know that he's not working with her?"

"Because, he's the one that arrested her. Not to mention, they can't stand each other."

"And how do you know?" The commissioner asked.

"She's my sister." It was obvious that they, and the chief, were surprised by the news.

"And how would he know about her?" The mayor asked.

"They were on the same squad in the Army." Karen told them. "Before she tried to kill them all."

"And I still have some of the wounds." The Black Knight told them.

"I'm sure that it hurt." The commissioner replied sarcastically.

"You have no idea." The Black Knight said angrily. Then, all of a sudden, the Black Knight doubled over in pain. Everyone was speechless, except Phyllis. She reached for his helmet. "Don't. They'll see."

"I don't care. I would rather visit you in jail than go to your grave." She told him.

"Fine." She pulled off his helmet. When they saw his face, the chief called out his name, and started pulling off his chest plate, and ripping the shirt underneath. When they did, they saw that his chest was riddled with long thin scars.

"What the hell?" Karen asked. "What happened to you?"

"Ashley." David, the Black Knight, managed to say through the pain.

"Who is Ashley?" the commissioner asked.

"Goliath." Karen told him. "But, what did she do?"

"RPG." Phyllis told them as she was trying to get the syringe ready. After the injection, his pain started to noticeably subside.

"You okay?" Karen asked.

"Better." David answered.

"Why would she do that to you?"

"She probably knew that she was being investigated. She must have thought that it would throw them off her trail."

"With all that she did to you, how can you not be angry with her?"

"Two reasons. First, I had to learn to control my emotions. You saw what can happen when I lose my temper."

"Yes." Karen told him. "But, what's the second?"

"If not for what she did, I might not have met Phyllis." Phyllis sat on the floor and put his head in her lap.

"I guess that's understandable." The chief said. Just then, a couple of Army soldiers came in.

"We're here to get Goliath and take her to Corado." One of them said.

"Where is that?" The commissioner asked.

"That's classified." David replied, just managing to stand.

"Captain, I almost didn't recognize you." The other soldier, Sergeant Michaels, said. Both of them saluted. "Your old wounds still acting up?"

"Just when I lose my temper, John."

"The captain here is the only survivor of the Corado incident."

"It's an honor, sir." The other soldier shook David's hand. The chief took them to the cell where Goliath was being held.

"Well, considering the situation, I don't believe it would be prudent to arrest him right now." The mayor said.

"I agree." The commissioner replied. "There'll be other opportunities." They both turned to Phyllis. "Now, what about you? Refusing to obey a direct order. Conduct unbecoming an officer…"

"Wait one minute." Phyllis told them. "Just because you're a couple of big shots, you think you can make snap decisions without thinking about the consequences? Well, you're wrong. As a matter of fact, if you decide to continue in this persecution of him, you'll do it without me." As she spoke, she took out her badge and stuffed it in the commissioner's shirt pocket. She then left the office, holding David's hand, and followed by Karen. As they made their way through the crowd, the other officers parted, allowing them to pass.

"What are you standing there for?" The mayor asked loudly. "I want them arrested." The officers didn't move.

"Arrest them or your fired." One by one, the officers dropped their badges, and followed Phyllis, David, and Karen outside.

"Shit!" Phyllis exclaimed. "We forgot the rest of your armor." She started to turn back, when she saw the chief coming up to her with the armor. They noticed that he had taken his badge off as well. "Chief, why?"

"We've known you long enough that we know if you refuse an order, it's almost always unlawful."

"Lieutenant." It was one of the officers, a sergeant. "We feel the same way."

"But, I don't want you to lose your jobs because of me." Phyllis told him.

"We made a conscious decision. And it was our decision. So don't worry about us."

"Alright. Just be careful."

"You, too." The officer helped David ease into the car. Karen got behind the wheel and pulled off. As they pulled into the driveway at Phyllis and David's house, a couple of the knights, Perceval and Gawain, were waiting outside.

"What's going on?" Karen asked.

"Goliath's missing." Perceval answered.

"How?" David asked as he put his armor back on.

"When the Army's soldiers went to pick her up, she wasn't there." Gawain told him.

"Wait." Karen said. "Wasn't there a couple of Army guys picking her up when we were there?"

"Apparently, they were working for her. Quite an elaborate scheme." David told her.

"How could we have fallen for it?" Phyllis asked.

"Well, we were a little preoccupied, plus they were army, at least they used to be."

"You think that you could look up the names that signed her out?" Perceval asked Phyllis.

"I would like to. But, I quit about an hour ago." She told him.

"Why!"

"They wanted her to arrest David, and she refused on grounds that he was doing a better job than they were." Karen told them. "Then, the rest of the department did the same."

"Wow!" Gawain said, amazed. "But, how do we find the names now?"

"I know one of them. His name is John Michaels, and served at Corado with Goliath and me." David answered, still moving stiffly. After a debate over his condition, David agreed to take it easy for a few days. Perceval and Gawain said they would search for John Michaels and keep David in the loop. After the knights left, Phyllis and Karen took him inside, and made him lie down. Meanwhile, Perceval and Gawain were discussing the next course of action when Merlin's voice came over the com-link.

"Any news about Goliath from the Black Knight?" Merlin asked.

"Not much. Just the name of one of the officers who helped her get out." Gawain told him. Perceval added the part about the history between the Black Knight and Goliath, as well as his condition.

"I understand. I'll check on him personally, later but first, I'll start the search for Mr. Michaels' records."

As David was resting on the couch, the doorbell rang. Then Karen opened the door to a tall woman.

"Hello, is Phyllis here?" She asked.

"Hang on. I'll go and get her." A moment later, Phyllis came out of the kitchen. She was followed by Karen, who was carrying a glass of tea for David.

"Jackie, what are you doing here?"

"Merlin told me that the Black Knight was here and was hurt." Phyllis showed her to the couch. "David? You're the Black Knight?"

"Yeah." Jackie looked at his chest, to assess the extent of the wounds, and noticed the shards of metal.

"My god. I'm going to have to cut these out."

"No, not yet. I have to get Goliath first. David told

her.

"Are you serious? Why?"

"I'm the only one that knows what she's capable of."

"But you can let the other knights handle her."

"No. I have to do this. Teaching the others will take too long."

"David." Phyllis started, as he got up and put on his armor. "Are you sure you want to do this."

"I don't want to, but I have to." As David put his helmet on, Karen stood in the door, trying to keep him from leaving.

"We can't let you leave." Karen told him. "You almost died."

"That's why I have to go, to keep her from doing the same to anyone else."

Phyllis pulled her out of the way. "Why did you do that?" Karen asked "He could get killed out there."

"I know. I also know that once he sets his mind on something, it's hard to stop him."

As he arrived at the knights headquarters, the other knights and Merlin met him outside. After having the same argument with the knights, they agreed to not hold him back. They told him about everything that they had found out. Merlin told him about some suspicious messages found in the mayor's email.

"I knew I didn't like him for some reason." The Black Knight replied. "I think we need to tell Karen about this. She may recognize the senders."

"I'll take them over there." Gawain told them.

"Good. Let us know what she says." Arthur replied. Gawain saluted and mounted up. The Black Knight and the others went over the plan to lure Goliath. Meanwhile, As Phyllis and Jackie were sitting on the couch, talking, Karen was in the kitchen washing dishes, when Gawain knocked on the door. Phyllis opened the door and directed him to the kitchen, where Karen she looked at the email headers. Signs of fear gripped her face.

"What is it?" Gawain asked.

"When were these sent?" Gawain looked at them again, and saw that they were sent a few days ago. "Phyllis!" She yelled. When Phyllis entered the kitchen, she continued. "I have to go somewhere else."

"Why? What is it?" Phyllis asked. Karen showed her the last email. "Who is this 'Heras'? What does it mean?"

"That's an order for an elimination. Heras is the code word for a traitor."

"My god. You mean she's put a hit out on you?"

"Yes."

"Shit! That's cold."

"That's the way Goliath is."

"We've got to tell David." Phyllis said.

"Why tell David?" Gawain asked. "Wouldn't it be better to tell the Black Knight?"

"David is the Black Knight." Phyllis told him as she dialed the number on her cell phone. "David." She said when he picked up. "You and the knights may want to get here now."

"What's going on?" David asked.

"Goliath has put a hit out on Karen." Phyllis hung up her phone."David said they others are on their way."

"I don't want to be such a pain." Karen said.

"It's not your fault.. Your sister is a cold-hearted bitch." A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Jackie approached the door, gun in hand. "Who is it?" She asked.

"Pizza!" The girl responded from the other side.

"Just a minute." Jackie told her. "Phyllis, anybody order a pizza?"

"No." Phyllis replied.

"Sorry, you've got the wrong address." Jackie told the girl. Just then, Jackie heard a sound like a shotgun being pumped, and moved to the side of the door. After the girl fired a round, she kicked the door in, and rushed inside. As the girl passed her, Jackie stepped behind her and held her gun against the middle of her shoulders. Phyllis came up in front of her, and grabbed the shotgun. After ejecting the shells, Phyllis hit the girl in the head with the butt. When the knights arrived, the girl was just coming to, tied to one of the dining room chairs.

"Who is this?" David asked.

"I don't know." Jackie answered.

"She's one of Goliath's." Karen said.

"Are you sure?" Gawain asked.

"Yes. I saw her at one of Goliath's training centers."

"So, it's confirmed. Goliath's put a hit on her." David said. "That complicates the situation. We need to lure her out, while keeping Karen safe."

"No." Gawain pleaded. "The first priority is to catch Goliath before she attacks any other people, including you." Gawain added.

After a lengthy discussion, they decided that Gawain, Jackie, and Phyllis would stay with Karen in case of another attack. When the other knights left, they took the girl to the base to place her in the army's brig.

David began to share his trap for Goliath, as they hurried to the place he suspected Goliath had her base.

"Are you sure this will work?" Arthur asked, as they stood outside an old warehouse outside of town.

"Not completely, but we don't have many options right now." The Black Knight answered. Just then, they noticed movement in the lower window. A moment later, the mayor came out with a woman. Perceval used his helmet's optics to zoom in on her.

"It's Goliath. She's handing an envelope to the mayor, a fat one."

"Lancelot, fire an E.M.P. At their vehicles." Arthur ordered, Lancelot reached behind his back and pulled out something almost like a handgun. When Lancelot fired the weapon, a ball of energy streaked towards the vehicles "Nice

shot."

"Thank you, sir." Lancelot and Perceval raced down on their horses, drawing their fire, while Arthur and the Black Knight sneaked down behind them. Most of Goliath's men were subdued quietly, Arthur and the Black Knight approached the mayor and Goliath. Just then, a black van broke through the metal door, almost hitting the knights as it pulled up next to Goliath.

"Goliath and the mayor got into the back of the van, which sped away. Lancelot shot a weapon toward the van, planting a bug on the bumper. As the van disappeared, the knights heard a faint beeping. Lancelot pulled a small monitor

out of one of his armor's pockets.

"How's the signal?" Arthur asked.

"Good." Lancelot replied. "As long as they don't go underground or remove the bug, we should be able to follow them." When they got on their horses, Lancelot looked at the monitor again. He told them that the van was was headed northeast. While the knights followed the signal south of town, Phyllis, Jackie, Gawain, and Karen were eating dinner.

"So, Phyllis tells me that you two seem to have hit it off." Jackie said as Karen was washing down her mouthful of chicken. Karen made a sound like she was about to choke.

"And what's the problem with that?" Gawain asked.

"Nothing. Just interesting, that you hold David in such high-esteem, and then you get in good with his ex-girlfriend."

"That has nothing to do with this." Gawain told her. "And no offense, if it did, what concern is it of yours?"

"Sorry." Jackie replied, throwing her hands up in a defensive manner. " I didn't mean anything by it." Just then, there was a knock on the door. Gawain got up to check who it is.

"Who is it?" He asked.

"Delivery for David James." The man told him.

"You expecting a package?" Gawain asked Phyllis.

"I'm not sure." She told him. Gawain, Jackie, and Phyllis pulled out out a gun. Phyllis pulled Karen into the kitchen where she couldn't be seen from the door. Gawain opened the door and pulled the man inside. Jackie took him and forced him onto the couch at gunpoint. Gawain opened the package by cutting the tape and slowly lifting the flaps. The whole time, the delivery man looked around like he was scared of getting shot. As Gawain looked into the box, he noticed nothing that could be a weapon or bomb.

"False alarm." Jackie let the man up, while she and Gawain were putting their guns away. As Phyllis and Karen came out of the kitchen, Gawain handed her the package. She looked inside and closed it back, putting it on the table by the couch. As they went back to the to the dining room, the package started to smoke. Gawain's helmet started sounding an alarm. As they looked back towards the helmet, they saw the smoke. "Shit."

Jackie grabbed the package and threw it out the window, where it emitted a loud bang and a bright flash. Then a small team of soldiers burst trough the door, waving guns around. Gawain, with his helmet back on, rammed two of the soldiers into the wall, while Phyllis and Jackie started shooting the remaining soldiers. One of the last soldiers used an electric rod to hit Gawain, knocking him to the ground. As Gawain lay on the ground, Karen grabbed a gun from one of the fallen soldiers and fired on the soldiers. As she fired, one of the first soldiers got behind her and knocked her out. Then, a second group of soldiers came in and shot Phyllis and Jackie. As the soldiers were leaving with Phyllis and Karen, Jackie's cell phone rang. The last soldier to leave crushed it under his boot and left a small envelop.

As the knights were continuing their surveillance of Goliath's van, Arthur received a message. "Lancelot, Perceval. Stay on the trail. Black Knight, you may want to come with me." He told them. He then pulled away from the others at a fast gallop. The Black Knight soon joined him. Lancelot and Perceval turned toward each other, but then continued to follow the signal.

"Arthur, what is the problem?" The Black Knight called out.

"Merlin believes there's been another attack on Karen. Jackie's not answering her cell, and Gawain's comm is down."

"Damn." A few minutes later, they arrived at the Black Knight's home. As soon ass they arrived, they saw the front door was broken in. Arthur and the Black Knight moved carefully into the living room. As they approached Gawain, he started to come around.

"Gawain, what happened?" Arthur asked.

"An ambush. They said it was a package. We checked, and it appeared to be okay. Then it started smoking. Jackie threw it out the window. It was a flash-bang. When it went off, they came in and overwhelmed us. I took out two of them, but they fried my suit, and everything went black."

"What about Karen and Phyllis?" The Black Knight asked.

"I don't know." Arthur finished assessing Jackie's injuries and called for medical transport. He then noticed the envelope.

"You may want to see this." Arthur said as he handed it to the Black Knight. The note inside said that Karen and Phyllis had been taken by Goliath's men.

"God!" The Black Knight exclaimed.

"Talk about bad blood." Arthur remarked as the medics arrived to take Jackie and Gawain to the base doctor. "It appears as though she has it in for you." They stepped aside to let the medics leave with their patients.

"What do you mean?" The Black Knight asked.

"Well, it seems recently that her actions have centered around you."

"I've noticed that too." As they arrived at the base, Arthur was telling the Black Knight about the doctor's expertise. "Good. I just hope that we can get to Phyllis and Karen before Goliath hurts them. Just then they heard Perceval over the comm.

"I believe that we found Goliath' base. It's on the north side of town."

Arthur and the Black Knight raced to meet him and Gawain. When they arrived, the van was at a seemingly new house. "Who all is in there?" Arthur asked.

"The mayor, and a couple of Goliath' guards." Gawain answered. The four knights continued watching the house and discussing what to do when a black limo drove up.

"Who the hell is this?" The Black Knight asked, half to himself.

"I'd like to find out myself." Arthur replied. When the limo stopped, a woman in a dark suit got out of the front passenger side and walked around to open the door for her boss.

"This is interesting." The Black Knight said. "What is he doing here? And who is he?"

"I don't know. What do you say we go and ask?" Arthur added.

"Sounds good to me." Just as they were about to leave their places in the bushes, they saw Goliath' men take Phyllis and Karen out of the van. The mayor exited the van and joined the man in the dark suit. "Wait, where is Goliath?"

"You're right. She's not here." The knights decided not to wait for Goliath to show. They made their way to the building walls then knelt down to remain hidden. As they were about to move towards the door, they heard 'Dark Suit', as the knights call him at the moment, talk to the mayor.

"So this is the lieutenant that's been giving us so many problems."

"Yes sir. She's also the wife of the Black Knight." The mayor told him.

"Really this is an interesting turn of events. The wife of my worst enemy right here." 'Dark Suit' said. "This is a good day." 'Dark Suit' pulled a gun out of the back of his suit and held the barrel to Phyllis' head. As the knights saw this and were about to storm the room, Goliath and a few men entered with guns drawn.

"FBI. Nobody move." She yelled. The men with her started to round up the guns , while the knights were trying to figure out what was happening. As she approached 'Dark Suit', she brought up her gun. "Well guys. Look what we have here. The infamous Goliath himself." The knights were dumbfounded, still crouched outside. Just then a few of the FBI agents surprised the knights, forcing them to put their hands up. As the men escorted the knights inside, Ashley, the former Goliath, was cutting Phyllis and Karen loose.

"Ma'am, what do you want to do with these four?" One of the men asked.

"Release them. Their ours." She told him. The men lowered their guns on the knights.

"Ashley, what the hell is going on?" The Black Knight asked. She looked at the Black Knight as though she was surprised that he knew her name. Karen came up to her, wondering what was going on.

"Karen, I'm glad your OK." Ashley told her. "You're probably wondering whose side I'm on."

"Hell yes." Karen yelled.

"I'll explain everything later. But first let's take this asshole in." One of the men came over to put Goliath in one of the FBI vans. The knights and the ladies rode with Ashley in the other. As they went to the local jail, Ashley explained that she had been undercover since before the incident at Corado.

"So, the rocket that you shot us with was just part of your cover?" The Black Knight asked angrily, just before he had to grab his chest. Phyllis reached over to him. Ashley looked at him, appearing to be concerned.

"That wasn't me. It was Goliath. I didn't know anything about it until a few weeks later. I wanted to check on you, but I was ordered not to."

"Why would you come and see me? You never gave a shit about anyone before."

"Not true. There was one thing that I cared for more than anything."

"What the hell would that be?"

"The truth is, it was David. Always has been." Phyllis and Karen looked at her with an astonishment.

"If you loved him, why didn't you try to ask him out instead of getting me to?" Karen asked.

"I guess I was afraid that he would say no and laugh at me."

"You know that I would never do that." The Black Knight told her. It was Ashley's turn to be astonished.

"David, is that you?" The Black Knight took off his helmet. She could see that he didn't really believe her. "I don't blame you for not believing me. The way I've been, I wouldn't believe me either. But it's the truth."

"If you loved him, why did you push me into asking him out instead of asking him yourself?" Karen asked.

"I guess I figured that you had a better chance then I had." Ashley told her.

"Guys, not that this conversation isn't interesting, but who is the guy in the suit?" Phyllis asked, bringing the conversation back to the current situation.

"The real Goliath." Ashley told him. "I've been undercover ever since Corado, trying to find out who the real leader is. As far as I can tell, it's him."

"Are you sure? I mean, we all thought that it was you." David asked.

"Not one hundred percent, no. But all the evidence points in that direction." As they finished the conversation, they pulled up at the federal building, where the FBI had their local office. Ashley opened the back doors on the van, and showed the others to the conference room on the third floor of the

building. When they were seated around the long table, a man in a light-gray suit entered the room. Ashley dimmed the lights and turned on the projector, which was in the middle of the table.

"Good evening, my name is Jerry Myers, the field leader for this area." The man in the suit introduced himself.

"Now, let's get down to business. First up, is Goliath. We apologize for letting you think that it was Ashley. Unfortunately, she was the only one that could do this job. After all, she was approached by Goliath."

"Why did he choose her?" Perceval asked.

"We don't know." He answered. "All we know is that he came to her while she was still in the service."

"But there has to be some connection between them. Wouldn't there?"

"Not as for as we can tell."

"There may not be any, directly. But, there may be some indirect connection." The Black Knight said. "Have you checked to see if there were any acquaintances that they had in common?"

"We never really knew who he was until just recently, but we are looking into it as we speak." Mr. Myers replied. Just then Karen rushed out of the room as though she was about to throw up. Ashley started to follow her, but Phyllis went instead.

"There is reason to believe that the connection has to do with both of us." Ashley told the Black Knight.

"Like Michaels?" The Black Knight asked.

"Not quite. I don't believe that he has what it takes to run an operation this complex." She replied.

"To run it? Then you don't think that the man we have in custody is the real Goliath?" Arthur asked.

"Not really. We believe that he is only a figure head. But who the real Goliath is, we don't really have an idea just yet." Myers replied. Just then there was a sound like a gunshot.

"That sounded like it came from the ladies restroom."

Everyone in the room ran in the direction of the sound, with Ashley and the Black Knight in the front. As they approached, they saw that Phyllis was laying on the floor.

"What happened?" Ashley asked.

"I don't know. I was coming in to check on Karen, but when I came in someone hit me on the head from behind the door." Phyllis answered.

"Did you see anything that might tell us who it might be?" The Black Knight asked.

"No. I didn't even see Karen."

"Then there's only one way to tell who it might be." Myers told them.

"How?" Gawain asked.

"There's video cameras in this hall. I think that one of them may have caught who did it."

"Perceval, I want you to check the footage while we figure out our next plan of attack." Arthur said.

"Yes, sir." Agent Myers ordered one of the other agents to show Perceval to the security office.

"Well, lets get back to the conference room."

"I'll take Phyllis to the hospital." The Black Knight told him.

"We'll fill you in when you get back."

"Good. Let me know what Perceval finds on the video."

"Sure." As soon as the Black Knight picked up Phyllis, the others continued to the conference room. A few minutes later, the Black Knight returned to the conference room and updated the others on her condition. As the others were catching the Black Knight up, Perceval entered the room with a look of disbelief.

"Perceval, what is it?" Gawain asked, being the first to see him enter the room.

"There was only one person leaving the ladies restroom after the shot was fired." Perceval announced.

"Well who was it?" Ashley asked.

"Karen."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm Afraid so. I double checked. There's no way around it."

"Someone was after her here?"

"I don't think so. She was too cool. I saw her put something like a gun in the back of her pants."

"Shit. I would not have thought that was possible." The Black Knight said.

"I don't think that anybody would have." Arthur said. The knights and agents agreed that this situation seemed to indicate that Karen was Goliath all this time. The Black Knight left the conference room with a determined stride. He was almost at the door, when Gawain caught up with him.

"Black Knight, I'm coming with you." He said.

"Are you sure? It won't be pretty." The Black Knight told him.

"Doesn't matter. She needs to be brought down."

"Okay. But I have to warn you. You might not like it."

"Let's just do it." They both continued out the door. They got on their horses and headed to the Black Knight's home. When they got to the lair, the screen lit up showing the report from the military regarding Goliath's latest movements. The report mentioned that Goliath had been stocking up on various items that could be used to create a very powerful weapon. The report stated that the current location of either the weapon parts or Goliath was unknown. The Black Knight and Gawain started their search for the real Goliath, which they now believed to be Karen.

After about a day of fruitless searching, they decided to check with the others. When they arrived at the FBI building, the others were coming out. The Black Knight asked Arthur if there were any new developments.

"Yeah. We discovered that the phony Goliath was army also. The DNA profile confirmed it a few moments ago." Arthur told him. Then the Black Knight walked over to Ashley.

"Ashley, we need to talk for a minute." The Black Knight told her. They walked over to the alley, leaving Gawain to occupy himself. They discussed where she thought that Karen would do now that she was discovered.

"Honestly, I don't know. I would never have thought that she was the real Goliath." She told him. "But, if I come up with anything, I'll tell you as soon as possible."

"Thanks." The Black Knight left the alley, and rejoined Gawain who was talking to the other knights.

"Find anything interesting?" Gawain asked.

"The phony Goliath was army, same as Ashley and me." The Black Knight told him. "What about you?"

"Roughly the same. The guys seem to think that there is a strong connection with the base you were stationed at."

"Makes sense. That would explain how he knew were Ashley and I were stationed." The Black Knight and Gawain headed south. As they left the city limits, Gawain was wondering where they were going.

As they approached a small farm, the Black Knight caught sight of a young man watching them from the field. The young man started to run towards the house as the knights continued to towards the farm. When the knights entered the yard, an elderly man came out of the house carrying a shotgun.

"Easy general. We mean no harm. We need to talk to you about Corado." The Black Knight called out. The old man slowly lowered his gun.

"How do you know about Corado?" The old general asked.


End file.
